“Last time I saw these guys, they were ordering milk and soft drinks,” he said chuckling. “They’re not 12-year old boys anymore like I remembered them.”

Wasano remembered short, energetic kids playing baseball, obsessed with sliding down the massive hill overlooking Lamade Stadium in Williamsport, Pa. — home of the Little League World Series. Innocent children not yet keen to life’s lessons or old enough to understand the adage — life isn’t always fair.

That’s a lesson they learned that summer, thanks to a hard-throwing pitcher from New York named Danny Almonte. But despite getting cheated on a national stage, the member’s of Wasano’s Oceanside American Little League team that made it all the way to the U.S. semifinals — just two games away from winning the LLWS title — never let that tough lesson bring them down. Their coach wouldn’t let them.

“Coach Wasano focused on the positive part of the experience,” said former Oceanside player Dennis Carroll, “and made sure we knew that we did something special.”

Twelve years later, the kids are adults, getting together for the first time in years. It’s a strange occurrence for youth teams to reunite at all, but the Oceanside players were anxious to see each other again, fueled by the bonding that occurred during their run.

The scandal

The stench lingered.

Although Apopka, Fla., bounced Almonte’s Bronx All-Stars from the U.S. Final 12 years ago, halting its pursuit of a World Series title, teams still wondered.

Determined to discover the truth, Sports Illustrated conducted an investigation. The magazine found that Almonte wasn’t 12 years old like his birth certificate claimed. He was born April 7, 1987, making him 14-years old — an illegal participant in the Little League World Series by almost two years.

Unfortunately, nothing could be done for Oceanside. The tournament was over and a champion had been crowned. Oceanside was awarded third place. Nothing more, nothing less.

Back in California, the Little Leaguers were unaware of Sports Illustrated’s earthshaking news while hanging out at the Upper Deck trading card facility in Carlsbad.

“We were taking a tour of the place,” Wasano said. “The boys were given baseball cards.”

They watched on television in not-so-stunned silence as LLWS president and CEO Stephen D. Keener addressed the situation.

The kids didn’t react much. They’d had deep suspicions about Almonte, and now those suspicions were confirmed. They were disappointed, sure. Some even say they were angry. But there was no pouting or tantrums. They handled the news like adults.

Still, the coach felt the need to address the team.

“Sometimes, life isn’t fair,” Wasano said. “Things that should happen won’t. Things that shouldn’t happen will. Unfortunately, you just learned it at a much younger age than most people do.”

Luckily, though, the coach didn’t end his message there. It’s not all bad, he said. Good things can happen, too.

They may not have been given a fair opportunity to advance, but Oceanside had reached South Williamsport to play in the World Series. Dozens had not. Wasano stressed gratitude and being appreciative instead of bitter and regret.

“It certainly helped,” Carroll said. “We were fortunate enough to have this experience.”

“Looking back, I would say the kids were more empathetic toward the other teams that were beaten by Almonte along the road,” said Dennis’ father, David, a coach on the team. “Those kids worked just as hard, but didn’t get the chance to go to the World Series like we did.”

Bumps but no bruises

The hypotheticals remain today — what if this or what if that?

However, it’s all in good fun. None of the Oceanside players are crazed adults holed up in the corner of their apartments or homes, obsessing about the past, furious at the world. Twelve years have passed. And like the proverbial saying goes: time heals all.

That particular experience is but a chapter in a book about their respective lives not yet completed. A memory among hundreds collected along the path through high school, college and now the early stages of adulthood.

It hasn’t defined them. Nor has it consumed their thoughts. They’re at peace with what happened, what resulted. They even joke about it.

“We talk about it, the experiences we had at a young age and Danny sometimes, but laugh. He is on Yahoo’s biggest or worst sports flukes,” said Cranford, a third baseman on the team who is now in the U.S. Army. “Danny is No. 7 and Notre Dame player Manti Te’o is also on the list so we just laugh about it.”

Each has created a separate path for themselves, carving a personal niche in the world.

One is a grocery store company manager. One resides in Canada, aspiring to be an academic. One has studied to become a paramedic. One works for an energy company. One works for Legoland Studios. Two of them pledged their allegiance fully to the country, serving in the Army. Two of them play minor league baseball.

All walks of life.

Separated by states and different time zones, it makes communication difficult, but the guys have all found a convenient way to stay connected — through social media. Chatting and sending messages provides a chance for them to stay in touch and easily organize meet-ups, such as the one at That Pizza Place, when they’re in town.

“Everyone is doing different things right now,” said Noble, now a grocery store manager for a health food company. “One of our old teammates, Matt, was recently picked up for the Cardinals AAA baseball team and some of the other guys who are in the Army were back in town, so we thought it would be good to talk and see how things were going with them. I created a Facebook event for it and made it happen.”

Added Wasano: “I was surprised to have received a phone call about it, to say the least, but was glad that Richard called me. I hadn’t seen most of them in years.